Attic Red-figure Belly Amphora

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Eucharides painterearly 5th century B. C.AthenslayH 64 cm

This masterfully executed vase is an example of a particular group of late Archaic vessels set apart by their monumental size. The unusual decoration of the neck was most likely intended to visually diminish the vessel’s weight and length. It shows the punishment of Actaeon, after he had observed the Greek goddess Artemis bathing. She rushes over and transforms him into a deer, who is then attacked by his own dogs. The other side of this great vessel depicts Hermes, the messenger of the gods, killing Argus Panoptes.